Looking for a mage that can carry you to a victory in the late game? Then you came to the right place! In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know to get you started playing Vladimir, the Crimson Reaper.

Vladimir is a pretty versatile champion with a very unique playstyle. The biggest draw in his kit is his insane ability to sustain and heal himself in the later stages of the game. With enough time, kills, and items, Vladimir can turn into a pretty unkillable champion with a large amount of health pool and decent AoE damaging abilities. He can get out of sticky situations easily and can pretty much beat anyone 1v1 if played correctly.

Abilities

As we’ve mentioned before, Vladimir’s kit is all about sustain and healing. He lacks a strong crowd control ability but he makes up for it with sheer amounts of carry potential.

Passive – Crimson Pact

Every 30 points of bonus Health gives Vladimir 1 Ability Power and every 1 point of Ability Power gives Vladimir 1.6 bonus Health. These bonuses do not stack with themselves.

Q – Transfusion

Vladimir drains the lifeforce of his target, dealing magic damage and healing himself. After casting Transfusion twice, Vladimir gains Crimson Rush the next time it becomes available to cast.

Crimson Rush: Vladimir is briefly hasted and for the next 2.5 seconds Transfusion deals 85% increased damage and heals an additional amount plus a percentage of his missing health (35% healing against minions).

W – Sanguine Pool

Vladimir sinks into a pool of blood for 2 seconds, gaining a brief haste and becoming untargetable while slowing enemies above him by 40%. Vladimir deals magic damage over the duration and heals himself for 15% of that amount.

E – Tides of Blood

First Cast: Vladimir charges up a reservoir of blood, spending up to [+8% his max] to increase this spell’s damage. While at full charge, Vladimir is slowed.

Second Cast: Vladimir unleashes a nova of blood at surrounding enemies which deals magic damage and, at full charge, briefly slows. Targets hit block a portion of the nova.

Tides of Blood will release automatically if held for more than 1.5 seconds.

R – Hemoplague

Vladimir infects all enemies in the target area with a virulent plague, causing them to take 10% increased damage from all sources for 4 seconds. After 4 seconds, Vladimir deals magic damage to all infected targets. If Hemoplague damages an enemy Champion, Vladimir heals himself, plus 40% for each Champion beyond the first.

Runes and Item Builds

When it comes to items, your focus should be to build items that increase Vladimir’s ability power.

Starting Items

For your starting items, go with Doran’s Ring. Since you’re a mage, this item will give you everything you need from sustain, damage, and even a bit of health. However, some players might opt to go for Doran’s Shield for certain matchups especially when matched against a ranged AD champion.

Mythic Item

When it comes to your Mythic item, you have three very good options. All of them give off similar stats and they differ only in the passive they give off. The best overall choice is Night Harvester. This gives you everything you could possibly need and it makes your damaging abilities hurt even more. This should be your go to item when you’re ahead and plan on snowballing the game to victory. The next great option is Riftmaker. While it won’t increase your damage the way Night Harvester does, it does give you Omnivamp which makes your healing and sustain even stronger. Finally, the last good option on Vladimir is Hextech Rocketbelt. This item gives you a bonus dash which can be pretty handy when you’re up against mobile enemy champions.

Full Build

After purchasing your desired Mythic item, go for tier 2 boots. Since Vladimir is a mage, the default option would be Sorcerer’s Shoes for the magic penetration it provides. Next, go for Rabadon’s Deathcap right away to boost your damage output. After, you’ll need Cosmic Drive to give you a bit of mobility and help you kite opponents. At this point, you’ll need Shadowflame for even more damage and to help you take out tanky opponents. Finally, top off your build with Void Staff for even more magic penetration.

Runes

For your runes, go with the Sorcery tree and take Phase Rush as your keystone. This will greatly increase your mobility and allow you to run around opponents as you slowly whittle their health. Next, take Nimbus Cloak to give you bonus movement speed when you cast a summoner spell, Transcendence for ability haste, and Gathering Storm for bonus damage the longer a game goes on. For secondaries, take Magical Footwear and Cosmic Insight from the Inspiration tree. Magical Footwear gives you free boots while Cosmic Insight improves your cooldown reduction. For rune shards, take Ability Haste, Adaptive Force, and Health.

Useful Tips

1. Sanguine Pool is a very versatile ability that can be pretty handy for dodging even crowd control inducing projectiles.
2. Vladimir is countered by Anivia, Azir, Zoe, Zed, and Xerath. If you’re matched up against these champions, try to play it safe instead of being aggressive.
3. For your summoner spells, always take Flash and Teleport. This will give you enough utility while also giving you a better overall presence around the map. If you need more mobility, swap out Teleport for Ghost.

So there you have it! That’s all you need to know about playing Vladimir in League of Legends. Be sure to check back with us again for more awesome guides on your favorite games. Have fun and we’ll see you on the Rift!